A Change of Fate
by Notepadhalffull
Summary: In which a minor-goddess' change of heart will change the fate of a hero, thrusting him into a whole new path. One simple decision would change the fate of the chosen and along with him, everyone else's. But for better or worse is yet to be known. Major AU, Percy-centric, OOC characters but not too much.
1. Part One: A Change of Fate

**Hey Guys,**

**I'm back with a new story. Yay! I know it's been months since I've posted anything but earlier I was busy with homework and projects and preparing for my tenth finals. Then after that I was giving my tenth finals and the past week or so I've been counselling all my friends who are nervous about their results and freaking out myself. So yeah I didn't have a lot of time to write. But I'm here now.**

**Also, I know I said that I would be starting another story which I mentioned in APNK and as you can tell, this is not it. You see I had actually written the first few chapters in my spare time just before finals and the when finals started I forgot about them and well long story short I ****accidentally deleted them. And since I couldn't remember what exactly I had written I decided to try this out in the time being. Sorry to anyone who was waiting for it. I hope to get it up and posted soon.**

**Moving on...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO, all rights reserved to Uncle Rick.**

* * *

**Part One: A Change of Fate**

_September 1994; Throne Room, Atlantis_**  
**

The sea-god watched silently through the one-way iris message as one Sally Jackson hummed a lullaby to the one-year-old boy snuggled in her arms. The boy-his son-had the same messy raven hair and vibrant green eyes that mirrored the sea as himself and Poseidon smiled at the resemblance. But the smile was soon replaced by a grimace as Poseidon what his son's life would be like.

He knew that a demigod's life was hard enough as it is but being a son of Poseidon and very possibly the child of the Great Prophecy would definitely make it even worse for Percy. If only he could hide his son under the sea and protect him from the dangers of the world. But it couldn't be. He knew young Perseus had many hardships in his future but he needed to overcome them himself.

"He is an adorable child." Came a familiar voice, breaking him out of his revere. Poseidon turned around only to come face-to-face with his wife-Amphitrite, who was gazing at the sleeping baby over his shoulder. Poseidon didn't know how to respond to that but it seemed he didn't need to as a moment later his wife continued on.

"Do you still love her." The question left him dumbfounded and shocked into a stunned silence. The shock on her husbands face and his lack of response was answer enough for the goddess and she sighed sadly. "I figured as much."

"Amphitrite I..." The sea-god started unsure of what he was supposed to say. He had apologized a million times for hurting her yet he had yet to get a response from his wife.

"I forgive you my lord." Amphitrite said looking up at him. "I am not saying that I am fine with your cheating or that your actions didn't hurt me for they did. But I am saying that I can look past it this once and forgive you."

"Thank you Amphitrite I am truly grateful. But tell me what is it that you're planning?" The sea-god's question didn't seem to faze the goddess much or if it did she did a great job at hiding it. Yet Poseidon knew he was right, he knew that Amphitrite had a hidden motive behind her act of forgiveness. A small smile formed on her face as she spoke on.

"We both know full well that the odds are, Perseus is the child of the Prophecy. This child could either save us all or be the very reason of our downfall depending on how we play our cards. I have been thinking about this for a while now Poseidon and I believe you should go see your child. The ancient laws forbid you from raising your son here in Atlantis or interfering in his quests but that doesn't mean you cannot be his father. So go Poseidon, be with your son and give him a reason to fight for us."

* * *

_Percy's Room, New York_

A cool sea breeze woke Sally Jackson from her sleep and she looked around as she realized she had fallen asleep in her son's room. It was then that she saw the tall, dark-haired figure looming over her son's sleeping form. She stood up and approached the god tentatively. She didn't know what was going on but she hoped to find out.

"Poseidon what are you doing here?" She asked as the beautiful sea-green eyes that she had grown so very familiar to her looked down at her. She watched curiously as the god gazed happily down at the peacefully sleeping baby.

"I am here for Perseus, Sally. He is after all, my only demigod son."

"But-the laws-I though gods couldn't raise their demigod children." Sally murmured in confusion.

"And yet-" Came the reply. "-they do not forbid me from being his father.'

* * *

No one knew it yet but that one simple sentence would change everything and affect countless lives both human and immortal. For better or for worse though is yet to be known.

* * *

_December 1995; Percy's Room, New York_

Triton-in his human form-glared at the toddler smiling up at him. The two year old boy was grinning a toothy grin, his dark hair messy as always and sea-green eyes holding a spark of innocence.

"Hwello!" The boy said, excited to be meeting someone new.

"Oh you little menace, you can't even say 'Hello' properly and yet you are father's favorite. I don't know what he sees in you. Why would he waste all that time visiting you or looking after you when he could be doing something productive. Even mother thinks you're adorable and she has never even met you." Triton ranted quietly so as not to alert Sally Jackson, who was currently asleep in the next room, of his presence.

The kid simply looked up at him, hurt reflecting from his big puppy-dog eyes, his lips shaking and curled up in a frown. It was as if the kid had understood all that Triton had said and was about to cry. Looking at the innocent face staring up at him dejectedly made Triton feel ashamed f himself. He suddenly felt angry for having upset someone so small and unknowing.

It wasn't the kid's fault that everyone loved him so much he was really cute after all. Wait, what? Shaking his head Triton looked back at the pouting baby when he noticed the thin film of silvery tears that had formed in his eyes. Uh oh, the kid was going to cry and then he'd be busted. No, he had to solve this.

"Hey kid, no no no. There is no need to cry. I-I didn't mean it." He stammered with no real affect. "Oh what do you want me to do? Huh? What do you want Perseus?" Sniff. "Oh no you don't. Don't cry! Dammit!" Another sniff. "I-I-I am sorry okay? I am sorry I upset you kid. Now you happy?"

And to his credit Perseus started laughing, leaving the minor god dumbstruck. After a long moment of staring at the laughing boy the confusion on the god's face was replaced by a huge grin as he whispered to himself-

"You know kid you aren't half as bad as I thought you were. Maybe we could even be friends." He smiled as the boy blinked sleepily. "Goodnight Percy. Merry Christmas little brother."

* * *

_August 1998; New York City._

"Okay Percy, quiz time." Sally Jackson said to the five-year-old sitting across from her on the coffee table. "Are you ready?"

"Yes mom." Came the excited reply with a grin on top. For a child of Poseidon, Percy was a really smart kid. But Sally knew the fact that studying and training was practically all he knew, had ever known. Percy didn't really have any friends as he didn't go to school and spent most of his time training. But he didn't seem to mind as he had his brother Triton and he was happy with that.

"Let's start with an easy one shall we?" She said with a smile. "Who are the Big Three gods?"

"Zeus, god of the skies, Hades god of the underworld and my dad Poseidon, god of the seas."

"Good. Now tell me..."

And that was how it was for a while until exactly half an hour later they were interrupted by a single knock on the door. Percy hurried to the door with a quick _"I'll get it!", _already knowing who it was at the door.

And surely a moment later Percy's voice floated back to the room.

"Triton! Mommy Triton's here! It's training time!" He yelled in delight entering the room with the minor god-in his teenage form-trailing behind him.

"Hi Sally." The god greeted as he casually scooped up a blue cookie from the plate sat in the center of the coffee table. "He's excited as I'll be teaching him new sword maneuvers today." He explained as Percy rushed around the house getting ready. "I'm taking him to Central Park like always and we will stop for lunch later. I hope that's alright with you?"

"Of course it is. He loves spending time with you and anyway he needs to have some normality in his life."

"That is what I'm here for." The god joked just as he was attacked by the five-year-old. "I'm coming, I'm coming. Goodbye Sally, have a nice day." And with that the two brothers were gone leaving Sally alone with her thoughts, worries regarding her son's fateful future swirling around in her head.

She wondered how long her son had to live, she hoped of course that he would have a long full life but the chances of that were pretty slim. A demigod's life was perilous as it is and Percy's being a son of Poseidon and possibly the child of the Great Prophecy didn't exactly help his chances.

She sighed as she picked up a cookie and nibbled nervously on the treat, at least she had this peace of right then.

But what Sally Jackson didn't know was that this peace was going to be short-lived as the perilous journey that lay ahead of one Percy Jackson was soon to begin.

* * *

**And that's the end of Part One.**

**So, what do you think? Do let me know via a quick review, for it will definitely make my day. **

**I don't know when exactly I'm going to update this but hopefully it will be very soon, of course your reviews will be very helpful in providing encouragement.**

**Also, before I forget, for all of you waiting for a sequel to APNK I am sorry for disappointing you but I'm pretty sure there won't be one. The plot of the story was Percy facing his past and if I write a sequel now it will either be a ton of depressing stuff about Percy trying to cope after his little suicide attempt or it will be a complete fluff piece full of romantic Percabeth moments and I really don't think it's worth it.**

**So, don't hate me for it but I am not going to make a sequel and leave the story at that.**

**Anyway, I guess that's it so bye!**

**Till next time.**

**-Scarlet **


	2. Part Two: Death, Brothers and Secrets

**Hey Guys,**

**I am back with chapter two! I know it's a bit late but I was slightly skeptical about posting this as I haven't really gotten much response for this story and I was worried that no one wanted to read it. But I had really wanted to write this so I went ahead anyway. I hope the few of you who are reading this like the chapter.**

**Also, shout out to WaterGirl145 who's review prompted me to actually sit down and finish the chapter. So, yeah thanks a lot for your support!**

**Disclaimer: Mesa no own, yousa no sue.**

* * *

**Part Two: Death, Brothers and Secrets**

_5th October, 1998; Montauk__ Beach._

The starless night sky looked down onto the waves that crashed violently on the shore. Cold wind whipped up the water, spraying it in an icy shower everywhere. Nature, this night, was wreaking havoc all around. Loud and ominous it was a sign that something terrible had passed, something that had angered the almighty Poseidon.

An inhuman shriek of pure agony rang through the air, barely audible above the uproar of the sea. A child ran towards the shore; raven hair flying in all directions, sea-green eyes shone with grief as they darted around wildly looking for any more enemies, but he found none. Then with a suppressed cry the boy fell.

As Percy Jackson fell to his knees the sword and horn he'd previously clutched in his hands clattered to the sandy ground. His tiny arms snaked around his torso clutching at the deep red stain on the front of his blue hoodie. Tears trailed down his cheeks as his body shook with sobs and the past few hours came back to him. In his mind the scenes played and he could do nothing but relive the worst moment of his short, miserable life.

_He remembered chatting happily with his mother as they drove towards Montauk, on their way to a weekend holiday at the beach. It had been an impromptu trip and had he been paying more attention he would've noticed the nervousness and fear in his mother's eyes. But he had been too excited to care._

_He watched as the Minotaur jumped in front of the car and he felt himself being thrown sideways into the passenger side door as the car spun out of control. He remembered being dizzy and confused as his mother had pulled him out of the over-turned car and then carried him as she ran away from the wreckage. He remembered being shaken back to reality as the monster neared them._

_Worst of all he remembered his mother taking out her bronze dagger and charging towards the Minotaur yelling for Percy to "Run to the water!". He remembered taking out his own sword and wanting to help but turning away instead, following his mother's command. He remembered regretting it the second he did. Worst of all though he remembered turning around a minute later to see his mother's body fall to the ground lifeless as a rag doll._

_He remembered fury consume him as he charged the beast and the next conscious fact he registered was the disintegrating monster in front of him and the horn-now a spoil of war-that was clutched tightly in his hand._

_He remembered kneeling down next to his mother and shaking her, trying to get her to wake up to say something, anything. But the blue eyes once so full of life now simply stared into nothingness. She was gone, gone forever and there was nothing he could do to bring her back. So he had ran, ran until he had reached the water's edge._

And now there he sat sobbing for the mother he just lost. He knew he should get to the water and to his father, he knew that if his wounds weren't treated soon he'd die of blood loss and yet he couldn't move. So he remained sat on the wet sand and sobbed unaware of everything but the pain of his loss, for that was all that mattered.

He didn't even realize the presence of the minor-god until he had kneeled down in front of him and enveloped him in a bone crushing hug. That was the last thing he remembered-sobbing on his older brother's shoulder-before his eyelids fell closed and he succumbed into the darkness and silence of unconsciousness.

* * *

_Throne Room, Olympus, New York_

The god of the skies and the king of Olympus, the almighty Zeus frowned sadly as his brother barged into the throne room. Pure rage was evident on the sea-god's face as he marched up to him, stopping a few feet away from his throne. Zeus knew what had happened and feared what was to come, for once he did not wish to argue with his brother.

"You must know brother, it wasn't I who sent the Minotaur." He stated with a sigh. "I swore that I shall not harm young Perseus as long as you treat my daughter the same and I have not broken our pact.

"I know brother, do you really think had I thought it was you, that your dearest daughter would be alive and well in her house right now?" Came the cold reply. "I have come not to fight you brother but to let you know that Oceanus has stirred yet again and I know for a fact that it was on his command that the Minotaur attacked Perseus." Poseidon stopped then letting Zeus take in the new information and then continued gravelly. "Perseus is in Atlantis right now and there he shall stay for as long as I see fit. I have come here to make sure that our deal still stands and that he will not be going to Camp unless he himself decides to do so."

Zeus sighed yet again. He had hoped that Poseidon would send Perseus to Camp, he had seen the fight with the Minotaur and he knew that Perseus was stronger than an average demigod and he had wanted to keep him under his nose. But then, as usual, his brother had ruined his plans. Yet as much as he wanted to, he couldn't argue with Poseidon, for his daughter's sake he had to let this one go. He just hoped that this wouldn't come back to bite him later on.

"Very well brother, it is understood. But remember the moment I feel that there is a possibility that we may lose him to our father I _will_ intervene. As much as it pains me to say this, Perseus is strong brother, he will grow to be even stronger and he will be one weapon we do not want on Father's side."

"He isn't a weapon-"The sea-god growled "-he is my son." And with that he was gone. Zeus buried his head in his hands, rubbing his temples. Things were not going his way and he didn't like it one bit.

* * *

_Royal Infirmary, Atlantis_

The almighty son of Poseidon, the messenger of the sea himself was crying. It was indeed a rare sight. As Triton sat in his human form, his unconscious little brother laying on the bed beside him, he cried. He cried for the child's loss, for the pain his baby-brother must have been in. He cried for the wounds that littered the battered body of the five-year-old.

He gazed sadly at the nearly-healed gash on the boy's forehead-just above his left eyebrow. So young and already scarred for life. His gaze traveled over all the scrapes and bruises that had all but faded now and finally landed on the gaping wound on the boy's abdomen, just below his heart. It wasn't fair that such a young and innocent soul as Percy's had to suffer all this pain and Triton had a horrible feeling that this was just the tip of the ice-berg.

His tears ran out as he went through the incident in his head over and over again. Stopping finally on the moment that Percy had collapsed in his arms. He had been so scared, for a moment he'd thought he had been too late, that Percy had joined his mother, that he was gone forever.

He had tried to save Percy and Sally, tried to intervene the moment he'd realized what was going on but Oceanus had caused a distraction and by the time he had gotten there it was already too late. There had been nothing he could do but take his brother back to Atlantis. For now he was peaceful in his sleep but soon Percy would wake up and he would remember that his mother was gone. Triton cringed at the mere thought of the heart-wrenching sobs that had escaped the boy's shaking body just before he had fallen unconscious.

Soon, Percy's wounds would heal completely and he would wake up and he would remember the dreadful night and Triton didn't know how he would react. But his imagination scared him to no end.

* * *

_Throne Room, Atlantis_

Poseidon sat in the throne room alone with his shoulders hunched and his head in his hands. The image of his son-unconscious and bleeding, close to death-was spinning in front of his eyes. How could he have let this happen? He had let his son down, let Sally down. He should have told Sally to come to Montauk sooner. He should have been keeping a closer eye on the two.

Had he done any of those things, Sally would not be dead right now and his beloved son wouldn't be in this state. Poseidon knew that such things were common in the life of Demigods but he had been in his son's life for the specific reason that Percy wouldn't have to go through all this at least not until he was much older. He wondered, this moment though, what if he hadn't been in Percy's life at all? Would Percy have had a safer life? Would Sally have lived a long and happy life? Perhaps...

An iris message appeared at the center of the room and his eyes darted to it. He knew exactly who it was. He had been anticipating this. It was bound to happen, under the circumstances.

"Brother." He said simply as the face of a furious god-of-the-dead appeared on the screen.

"We need to talk Poseidon." Came a growled reply.

"Very well, but I am not leaving my son right now Hades."

"Then I shall come there. Give me permission to enter your realm."

"Come on over." Was the dull reply from the high and mighty god of the seas.

Moments later, Hades stood in the center of the gigantic throne room where the iris message had stood earlier.

"You broke the oath Poseidon. You and Zeus both did. I am the only one who kept it, who showed restraint. Which is funny since _I_ was the one forced into it!" Hades fumed, an aura of death surrounded him and shadows shrouded his figure, flaring like black flames.

"I know Hades. And I am sorry. But I don't regret it, not for one moment. For I love my son and I loved his mother as , I am assuming you know of his..._condition._"

"Yes I do. He is different than any other Demigod known or unknown. He will be more powerful than others, the most powerful demigod ever seen and there is not much doubt that he is the Child of the Prophecy. Which is the sole reason that I am letting him live brother. For whatever his flaws, his loyalty to you will keep him on our side and once he finds out that it was a titan who sent the Minotaur that killed his mother he will never join them. That boy could have been the downfall of us but your intervention has changed things. There is no doubt in mind that the child will not betray us."

"I know Hades. I thank you for your restraint. I do not know what Perseus will want to do now. But I would much prefer he stay here, at least for the next few years."

"Perhaps that would be good for him. But he is a child of the surface as well as the sea. You can't hide him under the sea forever."

"I know, but I will damn well try."

* * *

_The Royal Infirmary, Atlantis _

Five year old Perseus 'Percy' Jackson, tossed and turned under his sheets, caught in a nightmare. Sweat lined his forehead and whispered groans escaped his parched lips. His lids fluttered slightly as his breathing got heavier and moments later they opened wide in shock and fear and then closed just as suddenly when met with the painfully bright room.

A groan escaped him yet again as his eyelids fluttered open, much slower this time and he blinked trying to get used to the brightness. He tried to get up and out of the gods forsaken bed just as the memories of the past few hours came crashing down on him. Weakened as he was Percy only managed to sit up slightly before his weak body was wracked with harsh, heartbreaking sobs.

She was gone. His mother Sally Jackson who had always been there for him, who had taught him almost everything he knew, who had tucked him into bed every night, who had consoled him when he had a nightmare, who made blue food to cheer him up, who kissed him goodbye whenever he left to train with Triton.

His mother who took him to the beach and told him stories about the gods and the heroes, who rewarded him with sweets whenever he aced a test, who loved him more than anyone or anything in the world, was gone. She had been the one who was always there, every single day for the whole duration of his short five years. And now she was gone, never to be seen again.

He cried because he would never see her again, feel her lips on his forehead in a gentle motherly kiss, hear her comforting words or her laughter. He would never feel the safety of her warmth. And he would never ever see her blue eyes again.

Triton kneeled beside Percy's bed and held him in a comforting hug as the child-yet again-sobbed on his shoulders.

"Let it all out little bro." He said softly. "I am sorry, so, so sorry."

* * *

**Woah! Lots of feels and foreshadowing in this chapter.**

**And I killed Sally. Um please don't kill me, it was important to the story line!**

**I've just realized how many characters I have already killed in my fanfics alone. I kinda get why authors do it now. The information scares me.**

**Sorry for me being creepy guys, I am just kinda having an existential crisis of sorts right about now. **

***Cries because she feels like a serial killer for having killed so many characters till date.**

**So yeah I'll see you next time! Bye!**

**-Scarlet**


	3. Part Three: Leaving Home

**Hey guys (EXTREMELY IMPORTANT AN!)**

**So before you read I just wanna say, this fic is officially going to have slow updates. The reasons for it are below-**

**1\. It takes a lot of planning and mapping out details to make sure there aren't any plot holes  
**

**2\. The writing style I am using for this story is new to me and hence harder to write.**

**3\. I have a Youtuber fanfic that I have just started which I want to focus on as much as I can.(If you ship Phan then you should definitely check it out.)  
**

**Keep in mind that all this means is that the updates are gonna be slow. I'm not abandoning this, just taking my time writing it. So don't panic. **

**On the plus side, to make up for it, I'll try to keep the chapter slightly longer than my general average so you have more material to read. Well, that's all, you can get to the story now. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Part Three: Leaving Home  
**

_15th August, 2000; Atlantis:_

"Perseus is getting stronger and stronger father. He almost disarmed me back in the arena today. His powers are growing as well. Soon, it will be near impossible to keep him hidden anymore." Triton said, looking up at the sea god sat grimacing on his throne.

"We must try harder then. No one, not friend nor foe, can know of Perseus' true strength. He's in enough danger as it is."

"But father," Triton started tentatively "we ourselves don't know the full extent to his powers. He is but a child. Barely even seven yet. He is still growing and so are his powers."

"All the more reason to hide him then." The sea god said matter-of-factly. But both father and son that this was easier said than done. It will be Percy's seventh birthday soon and they both knew exactly what he wanted. What they needed, was a way to somehow get him to change his mind. Yet, the chances of that actually happening were next to nil. Things were bound to get really hectic real soon down in Atlantis. And no one knew what it'd all bring them.

* * *

_Throne Room, Olympus;_

Zeus watched with bated breath as his daughter and the son of Hermes battled three hell hounds. He knew his brother Hades was out for revenge and he wished he could help his daughter, hide her away like Poseidon was his son. But alas he couldn't. For even if he the Ancient Laws hadn't forbidden him from interfering, he knew that Thalia wouldn't trust him anyway. Nor would she leave behind the boy. There was nothing he could do but wait and watch, to see how it all unfolds. So that was all he did, he waited. What else could he have done?

* * *

_Throne Room, Atlantis; _

"Greetings, brother. To what, may I ask, do I owe this pleasure?" Poseidon heard his brother Hades before he saw him. The Iris-message flickered slightly before focusing in on the god of the underworld. Hades sat there on his throne of bones, looking as like death as ever. Dark eyes met green and the two brothers had a stare-down before the sea god broke the silence.

"I heard you've been trying to kill the daughter of Zeus." He said, leaving the question unstated and yet not unasked.

" Worry not brother, I shall inflict no harm on your precious son, if you ever let him back on the surface, that is."

" And why so?"

"You remember what I told you when you first took him to Atlantis? I said I believed him to be the child of the Prophecy and I still stand by it." He sighed deeply but then spoke on. "Someday, someone will take up the burden of deciding all our fates and I'd much rather it be your son. He may just save us all. But keep in mind Poseidon, one wrong move and he will be our own downfall."

Poseidon remained silent, contemplating his brother's words. He had thought of the possibility himself a thousand times but hearing it from Hades made it all to painfully real. He imagined his son whose innocent had already been taken from him with his mother's death, with his broken eyes and half smiles. And he imagined him, older and stronger, standing over him with hatred in his eyes. Hatred for _him_, for all the gods. He knew if that ever happened he wouldn't be able to take it. It was all too much, just so much as thinking about.

"Now," Hades said snapping him out of the nightmarish thought "if that is all then I will be leaving." Without another word the older god swiped his hand through the mist making the image shimmer out of existence.

Poseidon simply stood there wondering what to do next. He had hoped this little chat would give him a reason to keep Percy in Atlantis longer but all it had done was give the boy more reason not to stay.

* * *

_Training Room_

A little body moved lithely around the large room, attacking the straw dummies with such resolve as if they were actual enemies. Even if they had been though, they wouldn't have stood a chance against the whirlwind of a boy. He flew across the room hacking and slashing with the celestial bronze sword, lost in the pretend-battle. Right then, all that mattered to him were his inanimate opponents. And it seemed as if his sword Riptide was but an extension of his own body. Before he knew it, there were no enemies left to destroy. It seemed as if he had hacked through them all already.

"That's enough for one day, don't you think?" Came an all too familiar voice from behind him. Percy turned around to grin sheepishly at his older brother currently standing in the doorway.

"Nah. How about a rematch? I'm positive I can take you this time."

"In your dreams little bro." Though the minor god did not sound as confident as he once had. "Anyway, father says it's time for a break. He doesn't want you pushing yourself too much."

"Buzz kill." Percy muttered capping his magic sword as it turned into a ball point pen and shoving it back in his pocket.

"He's just worried about you. Six-year-olds don't generally spend all their time training to kill monsters, you know."

"I'm almost seven and when have I ever been normal, anyway?"

"Not yet you aren't. And that didn't matter before..." Triton let the sentence trail off not knowing how to put it but the younger brother caught on.

"Well before, I used to live in New York and bake blue cookies with my mom. Now I'm the demigod prince of Atlantis. Things have changed, Tri. In case you didn't notice."

"Is that why you want to leave?"

"I just don't want to hide anymore. I want to go back to the surface, where I belong. Hunt monsters maybe even go to camp someday and meet other demigods. I want to live like I am supposed to. I don't belong here Triton and you know that well enough."

"You do belong here Perce. The subjects love and adore you, father loves you I love you. Hades, even mother Amphitrite adores you. We are your family Perce, how can you not belong here?" Triton said, feeling hurt at his brother's choice of words.

"I know Triton. But you're all immortals while I'm not. I'm a demigod, half-human. Father has already broken the Ancient Laws enough by hiding me here. Don't you see, I'm not supposed to be down here. I'm supposed to be up there, living like any other demigod. I wasn't meant to be a prince." He took a deep breath and then continued, voice much lower now. "I can take care of myself now. You and father can't protect me forever."

"No but we can try." Triton whispered back. Two pairs of identical sea-green eyes clashed silently for a moment before Percy broke the eye contact.

Head down, he shoved past his brother and ran out, hoping Triton wouldn't follow. And surprisingly enough, he didn't.

* * *

_18th August, 2000; Dining Room, Atlantis;_

"Happy birthday Perce." Triton spoke as soon as his little brother entered the room that morning for breakfast.

"Thanks." The boy muttered halfheartedly as he nibbled on a blue cookie that the chefs had prepared especially for him. Amphitrite who was sitting across from him simply gave the birthday boy a smile, sensing his foul mood. Not a moment later the king of Atlantis, Poseidon himself entered the dining area, a bright smile gracing his heavenly features.

"So, not enjoying your birthday yet, I see." He said cheerily as he sat down at the head of the table. His statement simply got a silent 'hm' out of of the birthday boy.

"Perhaps my proposition will cheer you up." This seemed to spark the boy's interest as he looked up at his father curiously.

"I know you want to go back to the surface and you know I don't want you to leave for I worry about your safety."

"But-" Percy tried to protest but was quickly cut off by Poseidon.

"Un huh, let me finish! So, as I was saying, I don't want you to go for I worry about your safety. So, how about you prove to me that I do not have a reason to worry at all, that you can protect yourself?"

"And how exactly am I to do that?" Percy questioned as Triton watched silently, intrigued by his father's decision.

"You are to duel Triton. And win." The sea-god said as a huge grin spread across the little Prince's face.

_Well, that sounds int- wait! What? _

* * *

Before Triton could comprehend the whole situation enough to object to it, it was already too late. For the first time, standing before his brother, ready for a duel, he felt nervous. He knew how good Percy had gotten and also that Percy would do anything to get his way right now. And those two things put together were not a good combination, not at all. All this ran through his head as him and Percy circled each other.

Triton took a deep breath, well here goes nothing- and then he charged.

The arena still echoed with the sounds of clashing swords, even though the duel itself was currently at a standstill. The two Princes stood opposite each other, ten feet apart. Both sweating and panting heavily, trying to catch their breaths. The duel had been going on for about an hour now and it was evident that the end was nearing. Green eyes met identical green and at once the brothers charged each other.

Two swords clashed, locked together and then with one swift flick of a wrist, one sword was snatched from its owner's grip. It fell on the marble floor with a loud clang and then everyone was silent. That is, until...

"Well, little brother" Triton spoke. "you better get packing then."

* * *

_A few hours later, Brooklyn_  


It was around midnight and all was quiet in the cozy little apartment. The inhabiting family all fast asleep, well all but one, that is. A small girl of about seven moved quietly but quickly across the kitchen, blonde hair tied behind her head and sharp, grey eyes darting around the room. She grabbed food and bottle of water, stuffing all items into a small backpack before zipping it up and putting it on her back. Next, she grabbed a hefty hammer from her father's study and stuffed that in as well.

She silently opened the kitchen window and climbed out onto the fire escape. Turning around to close the window, her thunderous eyes teared up slightly at the thought of leaving. She swiped her little hand over her eyes and then turned away, determined. With a deep breath she started making her way down the stairs from the fifth floor apartment.

_Fourth floor. Did she really have to do this? Yes. She wasn't wanted here, so why should she stay?_

_Third floor. But what if her dad felt bad about her leaving? No! That didn't matter. She shouldn't care, he obviously didn't._

_Second floor. What if she couldn't make it, all on her own? Well, only one way to find out, right?_

_First floor. She could do this, no backsies now._

And as she finally reached the alley below, there was only one though in her head-she was free.

* * *

Percy Jackson stood on the deserted beach, taking deep breaths. It had been nearly two years since he'd set foot on the surface and he had to admit, he'd missed it. He stood there for a moment; raven hair whipping around in the cool sea-breeze, green eyes darting about, taking in every little detail around him. A black backpack was swung over his shoulder and the hood of his dark-blue hoodie was down.

For a fleeting moment he questioned what he was even doing up here. Yeah he was back, now what? It wasn't like he had anywhere to go. A tiny part of him wanted to go back, but he pushed that thought to the darkest corners of his mind. He may not know what the long-term plan was yet, but he knew what he wanted to do first.

It was time he payed his mom a visit. And then he'd go from there.

* * *

**And done. Let me know what you think and stuff. **

**Till next time peeps!**


End file.
